These brave men helped bring Japan to her knees, under difficult conditions, using a new and unproven marvel of 1940's technology, the B-29 Superfortress.

American Prisoners in Russia?

It remains a little known fact that during the war, over 200 American fliers, both Air Corps and Navy, were held prisoner by the Russians.

In the case of the B-29s, four crews from the 58th Bomb Wing were taken prisoner, and their planes confiscated, never to be returned.

Eugene Rutherford was the Flight Engineer on one of these B-29s, called the "General H. H. Arnold Special". Forget the irony behind the fact that the plane named after Hap Arnold was later reverse engineered into the Soviet's version of the B-29, called the Bull TU-4. The real story was that our supposed "ally" kept these men prisoner, some for an extended period of time.

Eugene tells the story starting on November 11th 1944, when his plane had to land in Siberia due to a shortage of fuel. His story, called "Fuel Low - Going to Russia" can be viewed by hitting the link to the right.

Diaries of a Bombardier

"San Angelo calling..."

Dr. Yates C. Smith was a Bombardier/Navigator in the 468th Bomb Group, first with the 795th Squadron, and later with the 794th.

He flew with Major Walter George and Captain Harry Olsen, usually on 42-6284 (The Challenger) or 42-24893 (Little Organ Annie).

Yates has kindly provided his series of diaries and stories to this site for publication. None of these materials has ever been published before. The time period starts with the formation of the Group in mid-1943 at Salina, KS and covers the activities of Yates, his fellow Crewmembers, and many of the 468th men and planes to India, China, Tinian and back to the USA.

Willard W. Holderby of Byron, OK kept a diary during his time in India, China and Tinian. This is the first publication of his diary, thanks to the generosity of his family. The diary provides a rare insight into the minds of the men who flew the B-29s from their time in Salina, KS until the end of the war.